MY snake is ill!!1 Pls help

[Cobrajay02]

hello all,

here is the scoop....

went to store, got back in and ..click, click, click...
yar, solenoid on starter i presume.....12 hours later(thanks ford for the nifty location of top mounting bolt)...nada....try to start only one click....

battery good...fuses good...relays good...voltage at starter good...second key....connections clean on battery..engine is spotless, upper and lower so i doubt engine block ground....hmmm soooo....

I also tried to run codes but of course no engine light present.

i bypass CPP and nada....pull ignition box and check for continuity as book instructs...nada...all good....SIGH...

which leads me to our nifty little friend known as PATS.....rawr...but...

So IF u manually trigger the almighty PATS and try to start car u basically get nothing. NO clicks, no nada. But mine does the now famous "one click."

SO Me thinks transponder in steering col. not recognizing my keys...

Th thing that get s me is the one click versus no click and that it is actually the PATS???...

But before i go shell out more cash on this wild goose chase i thought i might ask if any of y'all have had a similar issue.

Did i miss anything else it could be?

ive read all the posts i could pertaining to this.....

thanks for any help in this....

BTW my baby is 98 COBRA...

 

[blackink00]

pats wont let it click. and if it was pats the theft light would be flashing while you tried to start it. if everything that you believe to have checked if good then you might have a siezed motor. try turning the crank by hand. i would also be leaning towards a battery with not enough amps to turn the motor. its not pats tho.

 

[bhuff30]

Are you able to try applying battery power directly to the starter, bypassing the solenoid? It could be very possible the starter needs to be replaced. Sometimes, a single armature can burn out and it just can't get the intial torque to turn the engine over. You can have the starter tested at most parts stores. But as the previous person said, don't rule out the battery yet.

 

[Cobrajay02]

well starter is brand new...lol...just did a pop-a-clutch and took it for a joy ride...however,...lol...i noticed that battery usually sits between the R and M or "normal" and its more towards that back end of R...and however, lol...i turned a/c on and it dropped lower and seemed to fluctate while driving....voltmeter when i got home and it is 13v with nothing on and drops to 12v with a/c on.....omg its the battery...well i got a new starter out the deal...SIGH...gonna do alternator test real fast tho....

 

[Cobrajay02]

and drops to 11.5v with radio and lights on and a/c

 

[GT Tommy]

Battery Cranking Amps?

I know you said your battery is good and the voltage is pretty good, however, the cranking amps is very important as well. Did you recently install that battery? Is that the correct battery for your car? It must have the correct cranking amps to turn your engine over. Hope this helps. Good luck, Tommy.

 

[Cobrajay02]

SIGH!!!...battery is good and has more than recommended cranking amps....alternator tested, its good....gun--->head..../dead....checked for shorts, checked everything....guess to the dealer....tho pats keeps creeping my mind...when ya start it clicks and light flashes..../cry

 

[GT Tommy]

Sounds like your starter solenoid is bad!

SIGH!!!...battery is good and has more than recommended cranking amps....alternator tested, its good....gun--->head..../dead....checked for shorts, checked everything....guess to the dealer....tho pats keeps creeping my mind...when ya start it clicks and light flashes..../cry

From what you are saying, sounds like your starter solenoid is bad. I know you said that the starter is brand new. However, you may have an electrical short somewhere which could have burnt out your starter solenoid. To check for a short, remove your negative battery cable from your battery terminal, then very slowly touch (make contact with) the negative battery cable against the negative battery terminal. Make sure everything is off and the doors are closed. This should be done in a dark area or at night. You should only see a very small arc, and I mean very small. The small arc would be from the load of all of your memory items in the car like the radio or clock etc. If there is a large arc present, that would indicate a short somewhere in the system. Hope this helps. Good luck, Tommy.

 

[Cobrajay02]

thanks tommy..i will try that tonight.... i bought alldatadiy.com ...wow that is the best thing ever...gave me VERY specific troubleshooting steps and i performed all and passed with flying colors. best i can tell no short.....im gonna test PATS module next then basically only thing left would be cylinderlock/transponder....tho by clutch starting it, im guessing cuz i have the key is why i can get get it started that way>?